City man
to serve
10 years
for rape

DANBURY - A 36-year-old man twice convicted of raping his brother's girlfriend in June of 1999 was sentenced Friday to a 10-year prison term.

Juan Fernando Ramirez, formerly of Danbury, raped the woman in a bathroom, where she was sick from alcohol. They were at a party at the Danbury home of his parents.

The victim went to the party with her boyfriend, where she drank and became sick. Ramirez took her to the bathroom, where she vomited. That's where she claims he fondled her and raped her even though she told him to stop.

In September 2001, Ramirez was convicted of first-degree sexual assault and sentenced to a 10-year jail term, of which he served three years.

However, he was granted a new trial in September 2003 by the state Appellate Court, which ruled then-Danbury Superior Court Judge Gary White violated Ramirez's rights by not allowing his lawyer to ask certain questions at trial.

Ramirez was convicted a second time and Superior Court Judge Robert Callahan handed down the sentence Friday, even though the defense wanted less prison time.

Friday's sentence is technically a 20-year jail term, suspended after 10 years, followed by a period on probation.

While on probation, Ramirez must register as a sex offender, undergo sex offender treatment, get a full-time job and not have contact with the victim or the victim's family.

Defense lawyer Robert Gulash said his client is intelligent, has "strong positive qualities," and has made the most of his prison time.

Ramirez has handled his imprisonment in a very "positive way," and has "gone the extra step," Gulash said. "He's provided me with certificates he's received."

Ramirez is involved in a hospice volunteer program and participated in violence control programs. He also became baptized while in prison, Gulash said.

Gulash said Ramirez is talented at drawing and writing, which are tasks he does to "not sit around and feel sorry for himself." He has a "strong family" that will support him, Gulash said.

Gulash said his client began drinking heavily when he was 17 years old and took some drugs. He was convicted of second-degree burglary in the late 1980s. "It's hardly a record that jumps out at you," Gulash said to the judge.

Ramirez is the oldest of seven children, and family members were in court to support him Friday.

His mother, Nellie, spoke to the judge, sobbing the entire time. At the end of her comments, she collapsed, apparently in anguish, and was carried outside the courtroom.

She told Callahan how her son was a role model for her other children. When her husband had a heart attack, her son took over his responsibilities, she said.

His sister, Jackie Smith, talked about how her brother is a "wonderful person. He's very gentle."

She said she and her parents are a "strong Catholic family."

"Fernando has been a wonderful brother. He's always been an example-setter," Smith said.

"He loves to write," Smith said, adding her brother mails poems to her from prison.

"He's done everything he could to rehabilitate himself in prison. Our family is not complete without him," she said before she began to cry.

"Can I give him a hug?" she asked Callahan when she was finished speaking.

They hugged and cried and Ramirez whispered "God bless you" to his sister.

During his sentencing Ramirez told Callahan he would "never do such a horrible thing," referring to the rape. He told the judge he would never see him back in court again.

Ramirez described himself as a "humiliated man, but matured."

Callahan said he was impressed with the defendant's "well-knit exemplary family."

"I have a big family myself and I know what they are going through," Callahan said.
Contact Karen Ali